While most students are eagerly looking forward to the end of
midterms and the commencement of fall break tomorrow, the Saint
Louis University volleyball team is awaiting tomorrow for a
different reason: the opening of their Conference USA home season
against the UNC-Charlotte 49ers, followed closely by a match
against the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday. The matches will
effectively end a long road stretch for the Billikens, which began
way back in September. Granted, it has only been a little more than
two weeks; however, when you are playing with an injury-depleted
lineup, as the Bills are, and must start the conference season with
less than their full compliment of players, nothing looks sweeter
than the friendly confines of their home court.

To start things off, the Billikens (8-9, 1-2) will host
Charlotte (14-7, 1-3) tomorrow at 7 p.m. Charlotte is a
well-rounded squad that boasts four different players leading them
in kills, blocks, assists and digs. Abbey Szlanfucht leads the
squad in the kills category, compiling 281 thus far this season.
Not far behind is Lisa Newell, with 250 kills and a team-best 82
blocks.

On Saturday, the Bills will host the Pirates, a team they have
never lost to in three previous matches. Their top player is Eric
Wilson, who has 205 kills; their back line is anchored by Johanna
Bertini, who has a team-leading 284 digs.

The Billikens will once again look to the leadership of Aida
Antanaviciute, who just set a conference record–not to mention a
school record–by throwing down 45 kills in one match last week
against Tulane. Her efforts so far this season have earned her
three separate C-USA Player of the Week awards, the second highest
kill ratio in all of Division 1 volleyball and have helped the
Billikens tie their combined win total for all of last season in
only half a season’s work.

Joining the Bills for the first time all season this past week
was Kayla Kmitta, who was lost to a knee injury for the bulk of the
season and is getting back just in time for the C-USA stretch run.
Jessica Kmitta has been going strong all season, especially this
past weekend against Tulane, when she set a career high with 11
blocks and chipped in 28 digs.

The ironic part about Antanaviciute and Jessica Kmitta having
career games against Tulane last Friday was that it was still not
enough for the Billikens to pull out the victory, which would have
put them at the .500 mark for the first time in a month.

The Bills have been flirting with that mark for the better part
of the season. Tulane ended up winning the match in five.

It was the fourth straight loss the Bills have had where they
went the distance.

On Saturday, though, the Bills found their groove again in, of
all places, Hattieburg, Miss., against Brett Favre’s alma mater,
Southern Miss. The Bills took the match in four games, notching
their first C-USA win of the season and ending a three–game losing
streak to avenge a gut-wrenching loss to the Golden Eagles from
last season.

The homestand will be short-lived for the Bills this week as
they take to the road for a final non-conference game on Monday
against the Southwest Missouri State Bears. Then, it’s off to
Louisville and Cincinnati next weekend for a couple of head-to-head
matches against two of C-USA’s most formidable powers. By that
time, the Bills hope to be healed up and over .500.